Vanguard Group Inc. Has $542.23 Million Position in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Key Points

• Vanguard boosted its Q4 stake in StepStone by 9.4% and now owns 8,449,878 shares — a 7.15% stake valued at about $542.23 million.
• StepStone reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter (beating estimates by $0.05) but missed on revenue at $241.13 million, with a negative net margin of 30.66% despite revenue rising 102.7% year‑over‑year.
• The board approved a $100 million share buyback (about 1.8% of shares), and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $71.75 target price.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,449,878 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 728,410 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 7.15% of StepStone Group worth $542,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 2,285.7% during the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 501 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 155.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 127.8% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company's stock.

StepStone Group Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of STEP stock opened at $54.06 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $48.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.93. The firm has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of -7.79 and a beta of 1.34. StepStone Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.58 and a 12 month high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $241.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.92 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.66% and a positive return on equity of 31.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of StepStone Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of StepStone Group from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $70.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.75.

StepStone Group Profile

StepStone Group is a global private markets investment firm that provides specialized investment solutions across private equity, private credit and real assets. The firm offers customized portfolios, secondary interests, direct co-investments and tailored advisory services to institutional investors worldwide. StepStone's integrated research and data analytics platform supports its investment teams in sourcing opportunities and monitoring portfolio companies.

Founded in 2007 as an independent private markets specialist, the company has grown its presence through both organic expansion and strategic partnerships.

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